Jersey City payroll tax clears hurdle amid objections

JERSEY CITY — Dozens of union workers crowded inside the City Council chambers on Wednesday to show their opposition to a proposed payroll tax, with business owners telling the council to put the brakes on a tax plan they say will devastate the business community.

Parents, meanwhile, urged council members to support the tax, saying the expected revenue is needed to stave off major budget cuts at the public school district. A form of state aid that brought the district about $170 million this year is being taken away in chunks starting in July.

have I seen this play book before? Whenever wants or dislikes something, they get a bunch of union people to protest. This is BS. As JC becomes more prosperous, JC should shoulder more if it's JCBOE costs...Maybe municipalities should be allowed to have an income tax too.

Jersey City payroll tax clears hurdle amid objections

JERSEY CITY — Dozens of union workers crowded inside the City Council chambers on Wednesday to show their opposition to a proposed payroll tax, with business owners telling the council to put the brakes on a tax plan they say will devastate the business community.

Parents, meanwhile, urged council members to support the tax, saying the expected revenue is needed to stave off major budget cuts at the public school district. A form of state aid that brought the district about $170 million this year is being taken away in chunks starting in July.

Jersey City payroll tax waiting for gov's signature

The proposed Jersey City payroll tax awaits Gov. Phil Murphy's signature, but it's unclear whether it will become law.

The plan, which would allow for a maximum 1 percent tax on a Jersey City business' total payroll, was dreamed up as a way to offset potential cuts in state aid to the city's public school district. Those cuts are part of a school funding formula bill proposed by Democratic state Sen. President Stephen Sweeney and also awaiting Murphy's pen.

Jersey City payroll tax waiting for gov's signature

The proposed Jersey City payroll tax awaits Gov. Phil Murphy's signature, but it's unclear whether it will become law.

The plan, which would allow for a maximum 1 percent tax on a Jersey City business' total payroll, was dreamed up as a way to offset potential cuts in state aid to the city's public school district. Those cuts are part of a school funding formula bill proposed by Democratic state Sen. President Stephen Sweeney and also awaiting Murphy's pen.

Interesting story on what percentage of your income funds your local schools. 5% is the state average, JC comes in at 2.9%. By comparison, Millburn is 5.9% (and it has the highest median income in the state, so that's a big number).

Jersey City biz groups criticize plan for payroll tax

A plan to implement a payroll tax in Jersey City has alarmed business owners and industry groups who say it would limit Jersey City's competitiveness and aggravate an already inhospitable tax environment.

The plan, which is moving swiftly through the state Legislature, would allow the city to impose a 1 percent tax on a business' payroll, with potential exceptions for the wages of city residents. Proposed as a way to fund Jersey City's public-school district, it was approved on a party-line vote by a state Senate committee on Monday.

Maybe look into ways to cut spending, we sure don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.

if there was so much fat to be cut, why didn't Christie cut it? are you saying Christie was a failure?

Christie couldn't even cut his own fat. How was he expected to cut the fat from others. As has been mentioned, he did slow the rate of growth, which was out of control when first elected.

He cut the rate increase in half, over 8 years vs the 4 of Corzine. It would've looked even better had Corzine had a second term to keep upping the number. A person with a $10,000 tax bill would have seen it grow to $13,791 under 8 years of Corzine vs $11,716 under 8 years of Christie.

Maybe look into ways to cut spending, we sure don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.

if there was so much fat to be cut, why didn't Christie cut it? are you saying Christie was a failure?

Christie's biggest accomplishment was dramatically slowing the rate of increase of municipal taxes compared to Corzine (and other previous Governors).Cutting spending with a 'tax and spend' Democratic Legislature was not really going to happen.

MDM wrote:Yeah.. think I will stick with tomatoes and basil. I have to re-design the drainage system and improve the insulation. That is on hold due to new baby expenses followed by the fact the wife is tired of our "temporary" (for the past 14 years) kitchen.

LOL. When we built a stair to turn an upstairs unit into a bedroom floor, I left the kitchen there intact and moved ours up there, so I could reno ours and we wouldn't be kitchenless. I think about 1.5 years in she said she would move out if I didn't get it done by the end of year 2! When I first proposed this plan the big concern was a gate on the stairs for our newborn daughter. It was never an issue and she was in Kindergarten by the time we moved downstairs. Now it seems forever ago...

Yeah.. think I will stick with tomatoes and basil. I have to re-design the drainage system and improve the insulation. That is on hold due to new baby expenses followed by the fact the wife is tired of our "temporary" (for the past 14 years) kitchen.

When you raise the sin taxes too high, people just buy off of the black market. This already happened with cigarettes. It will happen with marijuana when the state tries to charge confiscatory taxes for the product. People will just go buy from the black market. Anyone with a closet and a grow lamp can grow cannabis.

T-Bird wrote:Untrue. People working here but living outside JC could choose to work elsewhere. Or they could move to JC. They do have choices. They may not like them, but they have them.

Quote:

bodhipooh wrote: I dont think the sales tax analogy is an apt one: you can *choose* not to shop in NYC and instead take your money elsewhere. And, that's exactly the point: non JC residents lack that choice when it comes to their money and its "transfer" to the city's coffers.

You missed the point I was trying to make. I was not referring to a payroll tax, but to the school funding provided by the state from the funds paid by other municipalities.